THE GRAY MAN is a less interesting BURN NOTICE
THE GRAY MAN, Netflix’s recent attempt at a blockbuster spy thriller from the Russo brothers, would feel more at home on basic cable.
Category: Film
With NOPE, Jordan Peele takes his biggest risk yet by playing it safe
Every now and then, a film comes along that defies everything that came before.
MR. MALCOLM’S LIST is charming but slight
Mr. Malcolm’s List could use a little more passion, but it is otherwise a delightfully charming romantic comedy with a stellar cast.
THE BLACK PHONE stretches a good short story past its breaking point
The latest adaptation from horror writing star Joe Hill, THE BLACK PHONE, takes a solid short story and stretches it into meaninglessness.
MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON is a tiny miracle
More than a decade ago, a small anthropomorphic shell with a squeaky voice caught the collective eyes of the internet. Marcel, a shell with crude googley eyes and glued-on shoes, charmed in a series of stop-motion shorts where he described the world from his small point of view: a slice of life mockumentary about how he drives a bug for a car, wears a lentil for a hat, and uses human toenails as skis.
ALICE (2022) takes the easy way out
ALICE tells the semi-true story of an enslaved woman escaping captivity only to find herself in 1970s George. But is it worth your time?
Inside Out Film Festival’s THRIVE Shorts Were Delightful
INSIDE OUT film festival recently wrapped up with the Thrive series, a set of excellent short films about the trans and nonbinary experience.
MEN – shock and awe or shock and blah?
When Alex Garland made the jump from writing to directing, he was one of the few to successfully make the leap. Known for penning acclaimed films like 28 Days Later and Sunshine, Garland’s directorial debut of Ex Machina in 2014 turned heads. And if his follow up – the 2018 adaptation of the novel Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer – didn’t outright turn heads, it at least tilted them.
TOP GUN: MAVERICK, further evidence that Tom Cruise is our last great movie star
The long-awaited sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, is just around the corner – and miracle of all miracles, it’s as good as you’ve heard.
SELL/BUY/DATE: A CIFF 46 Review
SELL/BUY/DATE, a loose adaptation of Sarah Jones’ popular one-woman show, hides an anti-sex work polemic behind a documentarian facade.
AMERICANISH: A CIFF 46 Review
AMERICANISH is a solid but overstuffed romantic comedy/culture clash dramedy held together by an immensely charming cast.
HOMEBODY: A CIFF 46 Review
HOMEBODY is a genderqueer bodyswap movie that falters in the last act, despite a charming performance from star Colby Minifie.
THE PEZ OUTLAW: A CIFF 46 Review
Every so often, a documentary finds a truly odd story and a truly novel way to tell it, and THE PEZ OUTLAW unquestionably fits that mold.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE revives an exhausted multi-verse
Leave it to Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – the writer/director duo behind Swiss Army Man, which showed us Paul Dano using Daniel Radcliffe’s corpse as a fart-powered motorboat, because why not – to find a fresh spin on the concept that occupies critical darling territory.
KING RICHARD has a powerful swing but lacks focus
KING RICHARD lets Will Smith play the role of Richard Williams, father to Venus and Serena. But is it focused on the wrong guy?